If you have not purchased the new album from needtobreathe the reckoning, you should. this is my favorite song from the album.
There's a host of hurts we come across
None of which alike
From the air inside the birthing room
To the darkness where we die
Though I feel I'm just as strong as any man I know
I'm not able on my own
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/n/needtobreathe/able.html ]
Carry round the secrets
Only heaven knows
Crawl into our darkened rooms where only victims go
Though I feel I'm strong enough to carry all this load
I'm not able on my own
All my actions, false or true
Selfish motives I will use
We were born with knives in hand
Trained to kill our fellow man
If we're not better than the rest
How will children do their best
Find your patience, find your truth
Love is all we have to lose
I'm not able on my own
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Jesus found in transition.
I never thought I would be on this road, but when I was fired on July 6th I really did not have a choice. I had to find a job. I applied to places in Cedar Rapids to fulfill the short time need of finances, as well as churches for longer term planning. I ended up taking a position with a company who works with people with mental illness. They are given housing (which many were on the street before), most of them live off of $200 of food stamps and $70, most of the $70 is spent on tobacco. Many of the residents have schizophrenia, bi-polar, or depression as well as battling with drug or alcohol addiction...
AND JESUS IS PRESENT. Do not get me wrong, this is not a "Christian organization." In fact many times I find myself questioning the motivation of the organization. This is why I am leaving the name of the organization of this blog.
My job in many ways feels like what I was doing when I was on duty as an RA. I go on rounds talking to the residents and encouraging them to clean up their apartment, or even themselves. We work goals, some of them might be as simple as to stay on their medication, or to attend AA, I remind them of the doctor's appointments or meetings that they might have and help them with the bus route (this is actually the hardest since I have never rode the bus myself.)
But among the goals of one of the residents is to be more Christ like, she wants to read the Bible on a regular basis. And of course it is my job to encourage her to reach this goal. Of course I am willing to help. In our conversations you can really see her heart of having, wanting, and continuing a relationship with Jesus Christ.
So I ask her about her journey, her travels along the road with mental illness. She talks about her depression and no matter how bad it becomes that she focuses on Christ. She is not expecting deliverance from this illness but she sees Christ working through it despite what she is going through.
This past Saturday I arrive at work and I notice her and a few other residents sitting on a blanket. I see a few others setting up chairs and another person with his walker going in the direction of the blanket. I ask what is going on as there are now 5-6 people there. She replies that they are going to have Bible study and asks if I would be able to attend and help lead the discussion since she knows I am a pastor. I said I would love to.
I come back to the group after checking into work and making sure everything is taken care of. The bible study is taken from the Daily Bread, the devotional that is used all over the world and one that is very simple devotion. The topic of the day was, When bad becomes worse...
AND JESUS IS PRESENT, during this Bible study. People are sharing things that they have gone through. The passage shared was from Exodus when the Israelites find themselves as slaves to the Egyptians. They make bricks with the provided straw, then the Egyptians decide they do not want to provide the straw any more and force the Israelites to make the same amount of bricks and have to gather the straw on their own.
For many of the residents they know what being a slave is like. Many have hit rock bottom. They could not imagine life getting any worse. But they know there is something to this guy named Jesus.
And even though I am on this road that I never expected to find myself on, even though I have taken a dramatic cut in pay I am finding Jesus in transition. I still do not understand where this road is leading I know God will take care of us, because even though the last couple months have been new for us, God's love has been abundant in his followers. Many of you have been praying for us or even sending us some help financially. They are both greatly appreciated and we are so thankful for the friends we have. God bless you all.
AND JESUS IS PRESENT. Do not get me wrong, this is not a "Christian organization." In fact many times I find myself questioning the motivation of the organization. This is why I am leaving the name of the organization of this blog.
My job in many ways feels like what I was doing when I was on duty as an RA. I go on rounds talking to the residents and encouraging them to clean up their apartment, or even themselves. We work goals, some of them might be as simple as to stay on their medication, or to attend AA, I remind them of the doctor's appointments or meetings that they might have and help them with the bus route (this is actually the hardest since I have never rode the bus myself.)
But among the goals of one of the residents is to be more Christ like, she wants to read the Bible on a regular basis. And of course it is my job to encourage her to reach this goal. Of course I am willing to help. In our conversations you can really see her heart of having, wanting, and continuing a relationship with Jesus Christ.
So I ask her about her journey, her travels along the road with mental illness. She talks about her depression and no matter how bad it becomes that she focuses on Christ. She is not expecting deliverance from this illness but she sees Christ working through it despite what she is going through.
This past Saturday I arrive at work and I notice her and a few other residents sitting on a blanket. I see a few others setting up chairs and another person with his walker going in the direction of the blanket. I ask what is going on as there are now 5-6 people there. She replies that they are going to have Bible study and asks if I would be able to attend and help lead the discussion since she knows I am a pastor. I said I would love to.
I come back to the group after checking into work and making sure everything is taken care of. The bible study is taken from the Daily Bread, the devotional that is used all over the world and one that is very simple devotion. The topic of the day was, When bad becomes worse...
AND JESUS IS PRESENT, during this Bible study. People are sharing things that they have gone through. The passage shared was from Exodus when the Israelites find themselves as slaves to the Egyptians. They make bricks with the provided straw, then the Egyptians decide they do not want to provide the straw any more and force the Israelites to make the same amount of bricks and have to gather the straw on their own.
For many of the residents they know what being a slave is like. Many have hit rock bottom. They could not imagine life getting any worse. But they know there is something to this guy named Jesus.
And even though I am on this road that I never expected to find myself on, even though I have taken a dramatic cut in pay I am finding Jesus in transition. I still do not understand where this road is leading I know God will take care of us, because even though the last couple months have been new for us, God's love has been abundant in his followers. Many of you have been praying for us or even sending us some help financially. They are both greatly appreciated and we are so thankful for the friends we have. God bless you all.
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